Chris and Carole Choose a Chair
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day four hundred and forty-five:  abc 3 of 26  The Hudsons are out on a mission to find the perfect chair for the soon-to-be father.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 21st cycle. Now cycle 22!_

_**ALPHABET 2.0** - So nearly a year ago (HA!) I had done a set of stories taking inspiration by words, three for each letter of the alphabet (started with Acapella, Audition Arts in mid-February and every other day to April). Well now I wanted to do something like that, but using the alphabet another way. Instead of random words, I made sentences, all with those same letters (you'll see). There'll be 13 here in cycle 22, and the other half in cycle 24!  
**TODAY:** (3 of 26) C is for..._

* * *

**"Chris & Carole Choose a Chair"  
Chris/Carole Hudson (+ Baby Finn!)  
(A/N: This is the title that gave me the idea for this set ;)) **

She'd wanted to get it for him, as an early birthday present. They hadn't thought he'd be back in time, not so much for his birthday but for someone else's… They were almost certain he'd have to go back, so they just made the most of what they had. She could see it on his face though… He was afraid to miss it and then possibly never seeing…

So this was one part early birthday present, one part small distraction. He drove, of course, so she had to at least give him directions, though she really wanted to keep the surprise going as much as she could. She did throw in a few detours here and there, in hopes of throwing him off. She told him then to take her to one more place, and right as they were nearing, she made him stop the car.

"Is it now? Is he coming?" he turned in his seat, after he'd slowed them to a stop, and reached to her belly. She chuckled and looked at him, taking his hand away. She pointed out the window. "Oh…"

"You're adorable," she teased.

"What, you told me to stop, I…"

"Adorable," she repeated, getting out of the car… He just sat there. "Coming?"

"Yeah, yes," he got out as well, locking the doors. "Wait, so we're…" he realized what it was they were going to get just as they came through the doors.

"You don't get to argue. I know we've both been saving up for it, but I'm putting in the rest myself, and we're getting it now," she nodded, looking at him. He took her hand.

"I learned not to argue with you a long time ago," he promised, and she smirked. "Are you sure about this though? I mean, won't he need a…" She raised her hand before herself to cut him off.

"This boy already has everything he needs," she promised, with a hand to her belly, "Now it's this one's turn," she indicated her husband. "Now, let's go, my feet hurt."

There was no more argument after that. They started looking at the chairs, and Carole warned Chris that if he wanted her to try one out it had better be good or she might not get to get back up after a while. He kept that in mind, although he did like to consider all his options in situations like these, so not to later regret his choice.

"It's definitely between these two," he indicated after a while.

"These two," she did the same, almost testing him. He looked around.

"Well… these three," he pointed at another.

"Christopher Hudson…" she groaned. He looked to the three chairs, one at a time, and then he went to Carole.

"Give me your hands," he asked. When she did, he lead her to one chair, indicated for her to sit. She did so, resting her arms and head back, while Chris carefully pulled the recliner handle. "I think this is it." She looked to him, gave a smile as though to say 'Right, let's see.' She turned her head back straight, closed her eyes, drummed her fingers along on her belly. "So?"

"Thinking," she waved him off with a barely hidden smirk. After a minute, she opened her eyes and looked at him again. "I think this is the one, too." He crouched down to be at eye level with her. "Do you really like it?" she asked, hopeful.

"I really do," he nodded. They were quiet for a minute or so, with Chris resting one hand over Carole's. "Thank you."

"Happy early birthday," she smiled, and he smiled back. He knew what she was trying to do. Even if she hadn't said it, he could see the look on her face, when she thought he wasn't looking. He knew she was scared, and he didn't blame her… He was scared, too. They'd been hoping for this baby, and he'd had to miss so much of this period already… He didn't want to miss seeing their son come into the world, on top of it. He chose to believe that he was home now because he was supposed to be… So he wouldn't say a thing. He'd let Carole be happy that he was happy.

And a couple of weeks later, there he came, to the waiting arms of his mother and father… Finn Christopher Hudson. Chris' designated seat in the living room now found itself doubly occupied on many an occasion, as he would sit there with his son. Baby Finn never fussed when they were sitting there together.

Finally though, the time they didn't want to see come… They'd been having such a good few months as a family, and they tried not to think it'd come, but it did. And the day he had to go, well that snuck up even faster, it seemed.

Carole had been nervously checking on Chris' bags, making sure he had everything, while he sat on his chair, with the baby on his knee. He wanted to tell him so much, but the more he tried to say, the more it felt like goodbye, like they'd never see each other again.

"Hey…" he heard Carole call softly and he looked up. She smiled, holding up the camera. "Smile," she told him. He forgot all those other thoughts for a moment, holding up his son with a smile as Carole snapped the shot. She came and squeezed in with them on the chair.

"You made me forget again… How do you do that?" he looked into her eyes, her smile.

"Can't tell you all my secrets now, have to keep some for later…"

THE END

**

* * *

**

**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


End file.
